St. Thomas to St. John Ferry

There are two passenger ferries that go between St. Thomas and St. John, making it very easy to travel between the two islands. Indeed, many locals do it every day as part of their commute! It could be worse, right?

Red Hook to Cruz Bay Passenger Ferry Details

The most popular, frequent and consistent ferry is the one that goes from Red Hook, on the East End of St. Thomas to Cruz Bay on the West End of St. John. This ferry has hourly routes between the islands starting at 6am and ending at midnight. With the new fancy ferries, the trip takes around 10 minutes. You can sit in the air-conditioned inside cabin where most locals go, or sit on top and enjoy the view.

They will not come back for anyone, so don’t be late! And during busy travel times like the morning and evening commute, take into account potentially long ticket lines. Fortunately, the Red Hook ferry does go every hour, and there’s a bar in the terminal, so if you do miss your ferry, all is definitely not lost.

Speaking of beverages, they are generally not allowed on the St. Thomas to St. John passenger ferries. Certainly not if your drink is without a lid. But coffees with lids have, at times, been banned from the passenger ferries, so keep this in mind when buying things to drink before hopping on the ferry.

Charlotte Amalie to Cruz Bay Passenger Ferry Details

The less popular, frequent and consistent passenger ferry option for travel between St. Thomas and St. John is the ferry that leaves from downtown Charlotte Amalie on St. Thomas. It arrives and departs from the same dock in Cruz Bay as the Red Hook passenger ferry. The boat ride is a little longer, depending on the ferry being operated, it will be 30 – 45 minutes.

During slow season (Aug – Nov) this ferry occasionally does not run. Sometimes it will also be pulled off for another route, so always call the day before to make sure that this ferry is running, especially, if you need to catch a flight.

If the Charlotte Amalie to Cruz Bay ferry times work well with your flight on St. Thomas, sometimes it is nicer to take this ferry because it means you can bypass the shoulder-to-shoulder, packed-in-like-sardines taxi ride from the Red Hook ferry terminal to Cyril E. King airport. The taxi ride from downtown Charlotte Amalie is much shorter.

Call for questions: 340.776.6282 and/or 340.776.6412

Do you have more questions (or answers) about taking the ferry between St. Thomas and St. John in the Virgin Islands?